Seven of the most important questions you will ever ask...

Cont.
5. How do I approach Him to get the gift?
If I want to speak to a five-star General, I have to go to him on his terms. The importance of His rank demands it. When you and I come to God we have to come on His terms, and His stipulation is that we approach Him through humility and faith. This isn’t an intellectual faith that He exists. When the Bible speaks of "faith" in God, it is referring to a "trust" in Him. There’s a huge difference between the two.

Trust is the basis for many things we do in life. We trust bankers with our money. We trust historians to give us the truth about history, our doctors with the right medicine, and teachers with correct knowledge for an education. We trust that our dentist knows what he’s doing when he drills a tooth, and with our mechanics when he fixes our brakes. For a soldier, trust is walking in front of a buddy who has a fixed bayonet, or letting someone you hardly know pack your backup parachute.

The 1.5 billion people who travel by air annually trust more than pilots when they fly in a plane. Without too much thought, they trust their precious lives to unseen pilots, unseen air traffic controllers, and aircraft mechanics they will never see nor meet.

Trust is the glue that cements friendships. It’s what holds a marriage together. If trust goes out the door, so does the relationship. If you don’t trust someone, it means you think that they are not worthy of your trust. They are devious. Think of how you would feel if you said, "I love my mother. She is so faithful. She sure keeps her promises," and someone responded with "I don’t trust her!" His lack of trust would hopefully anger you, because it would be insulting to your mom. Insulting another human being by a lack of faith is bad enough, so whatever you do, don’t insult God through a lack of faith in Him:

"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him" (Hebrews 11:6).

So with genuine sorrow ("contrition") confess your sins to God, turn from them (repentance) and trust alone in Jesus Christ as your Savior and your Lord. The moment you do that, God will "justify" you and grant you everlasting life.

"Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:1).

Even though God is holy and we are sinful, upon God-given repentance and faith in Jesus we can have fellowship with Him, because He is rich in mercy to all that call upon Him. Do you remember Isaiah 57:15: "For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: 'I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.'"

Pray something like this today, because you may not have tomorrow:

"Dear God, I have sinned against you by violating your Law. Please forgive me. If you were to judge my many sins I would justly end up in Hell. But because you are rich in mercy and have provided a Savior, I can be forgiven through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I surrender my life to Him and trust Him alone for my salvation. In His name I pray. Amen."

To be continued...